2008-09 Men's Basketball
Coaching Staff

Cliff Hunt Head Coach 4th Season
(ph): 440.375.7477 (fax) 440.375.7474 chunt@lec.edu	Cliff Hunt is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Lake Erie College men’s basketball program and is the all-time winningest coach in program history. His teams are responsible for just about every team record in the history books, including most wins in a season (25) and fewest losses in a season (3). Under his direction, the Storm made its only two NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently competing in the second round during the 2006-07 season. His teams also earned the only two Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) championships – both regular season and tournament, in program history with back-to-back titles in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. He has compiled an overall record of 64-19, which is the best winning percentage of any coach in the program’s 19 seasons. He was voted AMCC Coach of the Year in 2006 and was also honored that same year and the following one at the NABC Champions Awards. Prior to Lake Erie, Hunt spent a total of 24 years as a head coach in the high school ranks at West Geauga and Perry. A former Associated Press Ohio High School Coach of the Year, Hunt went 356-194 in his high school career, leading his teams to 11 sectional championships, eight conference championships, four district championships, two regional championships and two state runner-up finishes. He holds the record for most coaching victories at both Perry and West Geauga High Schools, where his teams won 33 consecutive regular season games and an AP Poll championship. He was voted conference coach of the year eight times, Great Lakes District Coach of the Year five times, Greater Cleveland Coach of the Year four times and was an Ohio Associated Press Coach of the Year. He’s also coached in several all-star games, including the Ohio North-South game, has spoken at numerous coaching clinics and been published in Hooplines Magazine. A 1969 graduate of Hiram College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology education, he was a four-year letter winner and two-time captain and most valuable player in both basketball and track. He has been inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at both Hiram and his high school alma mater of Strongsville. Hunt also has a master's degree in education from Kent State University and resides in Concord with his wife Pam. They have three children, K.C., Kelly and Chad.   HUNT FILE Year / Overall (AMCC) 2005-06  21-7 (15-3) 2006-07 25-3 (17-1) 2007-08 18-9 (13-5)   TOTALS 64-19 (45-9)   AMCC Coach of the Year 2005-06

Dan D'Amore Assistant Coach 4th Season
(fax) 440.375.7474 ddamore@lec.edu	Returning for his fourth season with the Lake Erie College men's basketball staff is assistant coach Dan D'Amore. He has enjoyed solid success in both men's and women's basketball at the high school level. Prior to Lake Erie, he was the varsity girls' basketball coach at Perry High School where he went 97-20 in a five-year run in which he led his team to three consecutive conference championships and three regional appearances, as well as a school best 22-2 record in the 2001-02 season. He also coached in the highly successful Wickliffe High School boys' program as a varsity assistant. D'Amore has earned coach of the year citations from the Chagrin Valley Conference, Lake County News-Herald, Cleveland Plain Dealer and Associated Press. A 1973 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College with a bachelor’s degree in education – science, health and physical education, he was a three-year letter winner in baseball. He also earned a masters degree from Cleveland State University in science education and currently resides in Perry with his wife Nancy.

Chad Hunt Assistant Coach 3rd Season
(fax) 440.375.7474 huntc@lec.edu	After playing for one season with the Storm, Chad Hunt returned to the program as an assistant. He served one year as a graduate assistant before being elevated to the team’s junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant coach. Now in his third season, he continues as a varsity assistant for the Storm. A two-year scholarship player for Gannon University and one-year scholarship player for Ashland University, Hunt finished his collegiate career at Lake Erie playing for his father Cliff. The forward experienced three NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as three conference championships during his career. At Lake Erie, he was part of the program's first-ever conference championship and bid to the NCAA Tournament. Averaging 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds as the Storm's Defensive Player of the Year, highlights of his final season included the game-winning shot against Pitt-Bradford to clinch the AMCC title, as well as the game-winning layup against Pitt-Greensburg to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The 2006 Lake Erie graduate is currently pursuing his master's degree in education.

J.D. Johnson Assistant Coach 1st Season
(fax) 440.375.7474	J.D. Johnson is in his first season as an assistant with the Lake Erie College men’s basketball program. He was a four-year letter winner for the Storm from 2003-07, playing in 73 games for the Storm which earned two conference championships and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. He was voted the team’s Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, while also earning AMCC All-Academic honors in each of his four seasons.   Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree from Lake Erie in integrated social studies education. He then went on to serve as a varsity assistant at Madison High School in 2007-08, when the Blue Streaks went 17-5 and earned a Division I Sectional Championship. A native of Warren, Ohio, Johnson currently resides in Willoughby.

Ryan Schneider Assistant Coach 1st Season
(fax) 440.375.7474	Ryan Schneider is a first-year assistant with the Storm men’s basketball program this season. He previously served as the head boys’ varsity coach at Fuchs Mizrachi High School (2006-08), as well as an assistant at Cuyahoga Heights High School (2004-06) and Berkshire High School (2003-04).   He attended John Carroll University, where he was a two-year shooting guard for the varsity team. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration majoring in business management. He is currently employed in his family business. Schneider and his wife, who currently reside in Willoughby Hills, are expecting their first child in mid-January.

Rob Williams Graduate Assistant 2nd Season
(ph): 440.375.7467 (fax) 440.375.7474 rwilliams@lec.edu	After serving as the Storm's floor general for four seasons, Rob Williams is on the other side of the whistle for his second season as the team's graduate assistant. During his career at Lake Erie, he started in 88 of 109 games played, averaging 10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game. In his final two seasons, he helped the Storm earn two AMCC championships and two bids to the NCAA Tournament. He earned AMCC Honorable Mention as a junior and first-team as a senior. He finished his playing career with the Storm as the all-time leader in steals with 234. He also ranks in the top five among career leaders in assists (2nd - 380) and points (4th - 1,176). Williams earned his bachelor's degree in education in May 2007 and is currently pursuing a master's degree from Lake Erie, also in education.